“What did I do this time?” I groaned.
Her attitude is getting ridiculous, I thought, my own fury mounting.
“I told you not to say anything, and what do you do? You tell the gossipiest bitch in the school office and you get Samantha involved.”
“No, I didn’t—”
“You did. You and her, you’re both the same. Totally unhelpful, and you think you know everything!”
“Who?” I asked, throwing up my hands in defeat.
“You and Samantha. I hate you both. Don’t fucking talk to me.” Moments later, I heard the slam of her bedroom door and the low sound of alternative music.
Hearing Delaney say she hated her stepmom should have brought me pleasure, but it didn’t. I took my phone out and shot Sam a message.
What happened? Delaney is mad at both of us.
Sam’s response was instantaneous:
I went down there and talked to Mindy McDaniel, just like I said I would. I told her about what Timothy was doing, about him hanging around our houses late at night, and I warned her that if she didn’t address her son’s behavior, then Michael and I would pull out our funding for the country club.
Okay. But that still didn’t explain how Delaney knew. Had the boy’s mom confronted him about his behavior, and instead of stopping, he’d amped up the bullying?
Seconds later, my answer came.
She was horrified when I told her. And she didn’t deny that her son might be bullying Delaney. But this is what she told me: Timothy doesn’t drive a truck with tinted windows. In fact, he doesn’t drive anything at all right now because he’s been grounded for weeks. And that’s not all. He’s been missing for the last two days. The family thinks he ran off and is staying with friends. Apparently, it’s not the first time he’s taken off after receiving a punishment.
I read through her message a couple times, my mind spinning in confusion. I replied:
If it’s not him in the truck, then it’s probably one of his friends. He’s popular – I’m sure he has little minions that do his dirty work. And it sucks that he ran off, but it doesn’t sound too sinister, does it?
Samantha was typing, but then she stopped. For several minutes, the typing reappeared then stopped again.
What is she not telling me?
I was staring at the phone, waiting, when it started ringing. Samantha was calling.
“What’s going on?” I answered, breathlessly.
“Delaney didn’t tell you?”
I wanted to scream at the phone, but I took a deep breath and said, “Tell me what?”
Samantha lowered her voice a few octaves. “The police were at school today, asking questions. Michael received a call from a Detective Rodriguez. They asked him to come in while they questioned Delaney. According to Michael, they asked her a million questions about the McDaniel boy and the bullying.”
“Why?” I asked, gripping the phone until my knuckles turned white. The thought of the police questioning my daughter, Michael there instead of me, infuriated me.
Why didn’t he call me?
“Because apparently Timothy hasn’t been staying with any of his friends, like his mother thought. It turns out that some of his friends told the cops that Delaney wanted him dead.”
Chapter 35
NOW
“It’s a set up. I know it is. He’s trying to pay me back for what I did.”
“What we did,” Pam said, softly.
“Only one man has a reason to hate us that much. Phil. But why he did it like this, I’ll never understand.”
I could feel the pressure mounting, like a boulder on my chest. It had been years since I’d had a full-blown panic attack, but one was on its way; I could feel it.
“Sit down. Breathe. Just breathe.” Pam nudged me back onto the bed. I stared at the ceiling, watching the popcorn patterns rise and swirl.
“Where are you going?” I called.
“To get you some water,” Pam said, stretching. I watched her go. She closed the door to my bedroom behind her.
I was feeling a little better, my breaths evening out again.
Phil can’t get away with this. He can’t.
But who put the bug in my bedroom? It had to be Ben. He’s the only one who’s had access to my computer area. Him and Delaney …
When my phone rang in my pocket, I almost expected it to be him. I stared at Michael’s name, my head spinning.
It must be … what, nearly midnight? Why’s he calling this late?
And that was when it dawned on me – Delaney might be in trouble.
What if Phil came for her at her dad’s house?
“Hello?” My voice sounded scratchy and mean, like I’d just finished screaming. I cleared my throat. “Michael, are you there?”
“It’s me,” came a small, feminine voice on the other end. Sam.
“Sam, what’s wrong? Is Delaney okay?”
When she didn’t answer right away, I jolted to my feet. “Sam, tell me!” I screamed.
“She’s been arrested. Michael followed her to the station.” Sam’s voice was so tiny and scared, I didn’t even recognize it.
“What? Why?”
“They found bloody clothes in the wooded area behind school. They believe they’re a match to the boy.”
My head turned, eyes examining the dead boy on my floor.
“And?”
“And they also found something else. Delaney’s school ID. It was in the grass, only a couple feet away from the body …”
“That’s absurd! Laney had nothing to do with his death!”
Pam was back with the water, eyes wide as saucers. I batted her away as she tried to hand me the drinking glass.
“Well, they don’t know for sure he’s dead, Ivy …” Sam said, her voice taking on a strange tone. “It’s not like they found a body. But I know she didn’t have anything to do with his disappearance. For all we know, he could be alive and well, setting her up because he’s obsessed with her …”
My eyes were glued to his bloody torso and the blue-black knife wounds that matched Robin Regal’s.
Timothy McDaniel didn’t set up Delaney. And he most certainly isn’t alive and well.
My head was buzzing with adrenaline, realization sinking in fast …
“Michael called an attorney. He’s meeting them at the station,” Sam said. Then, “Are you still there?”
“Yeah. Why aren’t you with them?” I barked.
Sam sounded like she was crying on the other end. “Because someone had to stay behind with the boys. There are more police here, at the house. They have a search warrant. Your house is probably next …”
Chapter 36
BEFORE
Silently, I moved through the kitchen, warming up a leftover plate of chicken and potatoes, cooking green beans on the stove.
This whole thing was a complete façade; Delaney would refuse to eat dinner – hell, she might not even come out of her room at all – and any appetite I’d had earlier vanished with Samantha’s phone call.
Delaney wanted Timothy McDaniel dead, according to his friends.